Traction-engine.



M. l. WILLIAMS.

TRACTION ENGINE.

APPLlc/Tlon msn F:s.5.1915.

Patented Feb. 1, i916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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,4 TTORNEY M. J. WILLIAMS.

TRACTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5.1915.

Patented Feb. l, 1916.

3 SHEETS-*SHEET 2.

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.ATTORNEY M. l. WILLIAMS.

TRACTION ENGINE.

Arrucnlon min ri. 5. |915.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

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simenon-ENGINE.

To ali-Z whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, IAncnLLUs J. WiL- -Li'AM's,a citizen ofthe United States, anda resident of Portland, county of Multnomah,

-State of Oregon, have invented a new7 and useful Improvement in Traction-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in traction engines of the heavy-duty type and particularly to machines of this type which are used in localities where the soil is of a sandy character.- One of the main objects of my invention to provide anarticulated traction engine of high tractive efficiencyand of such form that it will conveniently fit lthe unevenness -of any ground over which it may travel without causing torsional stress in any of the'p'arts.

Another object of vmy invention is to provide means for driving all wheels of this traction engine simultaneously.

A'furtiier objectof my invention is to providea traction engine of this typewhich will have-v all bearings` located at considerable height above the ground sothat they will not Qbeso sumeptible to catching sand, which is iso harmful to such bearings. y

i i F urtherobjects of my inventionconsist in making the frame ofv my traction engine of independent units for the front `and rear wheels respectively, connecting such frame units by a universal. joint and including in the latter means adapted to permit the relative' longitudinaliv movement of one frame -unit with respect to the other.

A still further object of my invention :is to provide ooth power and `manual steering means for controlling trie direction of travel of the machine.-

Mv invention further has for its particu lar object to eliminate to a great extentl the Y intricate construction so common to heavythe universal joint bitweenthe tvvrfframe parts to be removed from the body` of the machine when the latter is to be used for road-work instead of field Work.

All features of my invention are fully Specication of Letters Patent. api-.imma inea February s, 1915. -seiiiai no. 6,384.

Patent-ed Feb. 1,1916.

shown and described in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the tractor,- the motor and speed-changing mechanism being shown in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a longitudilnal section takenv approximately onthe line 2 ofFig. l; Fig. 3 is a larger scaled side elevation showing the controllingl means for operating the friction clutches which transmit power to the front wheels.; Fig. 4 isa sectional elevation of the ratchet clutch -by which the rear wheels are driven in onedirection and permitted to idle inan opposite direction;` Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken approximately on the lineV 5- 5 of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1, showing a `detail of construction. A My tractor comprises two connected sections, the' front section A and the rear section B Referring now to the front section A; a frame a is provided on its lower side with bearings b, in which is mounted the axle c. lVheels Q are rotatably mounted on said axle o, and bolted to the v side face of each wheel is a sprocket o2. A transverse shaft, d, made with `floating ends Z" is ro`- .tatably mounted in hearings d2 on the front end of the frame a. Fixed on said shaft d, is a bevel gearf, andfonthe'tloating'ends d are' fixed Sprocket wheelsrfgthe latter being in alineinent with ther'sprockets'cg- ;ai'id4 connected to them by a chain" drive 7".; Spring*-I Acontrolled friction clutchesg, g"-

ard vmake connect the shaft d, wit

ing ends a, and are adapted to tra' mit mo-I I tion from the driven portion of said shaft upon which the nevel geare, is fixed to the .floating ends d upon which the sprocket wheels-f are fixed.' The clutch levers It, h extend horizontally and have axed to their ends cables 1f. and i respectively which ru'n' over sheaves ffy", j, and j 5 to a lever 7c. The sheaves j, j' arel single pulleys mounted on opposite sides of the front frame a, the sheave j comprises two independent pulleys mounted on a common pivot at' the vrear ffcgenter of the front frame, the sheave j* com, prises Atwo' independent pulleys mounted on abpivot on thefront center point of the rear frame, and the sheave [i5 comprises two independent pulleys mounted on the front end of theE rear frame. The lever k, is mounted f fraine. m, of the rear section B of the'traction engine,

Fig. 3) being fulcrumed on thepivot m' spec'tively. In this way, when the lever la is thrown backward, the .cable z' will be slackened and a pull exerted on the cable i', and

3 conversely when' the lever is thrown for-A ward, the cable z" will be slackened and a pull will .be exerted on the cable The pull on either cable will throwont the corresponding cllitch to the handle of which said cable is connected. In the rear center portion of the frame a, are'the trunnion supports fn., in which the vertical -trunnions of the universal joint member nv are supported. See Fig. 2. 4liixed to said mem-ber JL', is a longitudinally extending shaft n2,

which has a bearing in the members m2 and m, ofthe rear section frame m. Collars 'n.3 and n*- on said shaft n2 lare adapted to abut against the corresponding face of the frame members m2 and m3 and thereby limit the longitudinal movement of the shaft nl relative to said rear section B.

Mounted on the rear section frame m, is a motor, o, the speed changing mechanism being indicated by o and the operating leve;` for same by 02. On the rear end of thepropeller shaft of said motor is a gear p, meshing with and driving a ear p', the latter fixed on a longitudinal siiaft g. The shaft Q, is mounted in bearings g', and the motor o is elevated to the properlposition for allowing the shaft g' to be carried forward along the longitudinal center line of the machine over the frame fm.. On the frame a,

- of the front section A, are bearingsa", in

which is journaled a shaft r. A bevel gear r2 fixed on the forward end of this shaft meshes with Vand is adapted to drive the bevel gear e of the^ shaft d. 'A flexible int'ermediate link s, connecting the shafts g and 1' through the universal joints s and s2 respectively forms the driving connection between such shafts. Said -link s, is made in Sections s and s, thelatter being adapted to telescope into the former, but having no rotary movement relative thereto.

The rear axle t, of the traction engine, is fixed in bearings t4, under the frame m., as shown in Fig. 2. Rotatably mounted on the axle t, are the rear wheels u. Bolted on the side face of each .Wheel "w, is a ratchet u',

the latter being made with a hub u2 encir- 5acling the axle t. sprocket'wheel o, made in the, form of a housing (see Figs. 4 and 5 is rotatably mounted on the hub u2 .of the ratchet u', a ball bearing ua being interposed' between the bearing parts' for the purpose of reducing friction.

Pawls t'v are pivoted on the studs t2 and spiings t3 normally thrust the pawls into engagement with the teth of the ratchet u.

A jack-shaft w, 'is rotatably mounted in bearings 'w' on the frame m. .A differential mountedin the bearing 13, and

to be turned by the worm 14; of the lforward or backward chain drive 'mi The projecting side portions of the rear section B, that is, the parts,.projecting outl side the longitudinal sides of the irontsection A, are adapted for use only when heaviest field service is requlred, and when the machineis toV be used on road-work, these projecting portions are not used, as they would make theinachine too wide for convenient use. The manner in which these portions are removably fixed to the body (if the machine is shown in Figs. 1 and. The frame members y are provided with coverplatesy adapted to be boltedto the mem bers of the frame Iin., by the bolts 1 2. The wheels .a are similar in construction to the wheels u, and their axles z are removable from the outer bearings in which the main rear axle 1S is mounted. The auxiliary shafts 3, have theirouter ends journaled in the bearings 8 on the frame y, and carry the sprocket wheels 9, which are in line with and connected to the sprocket clutches of the wheels z, by a. chain drive 10. The inner ends 3 of the auxiliary' shafts 3 are squared, and adapted to be inserted in squared axial holes in the endsof the jack-shaft w. lSee Fig. 6. In this way, when the auxiliary frames are used, a positive drive will be transmitted to the wheels 2 in the same man` The steering column 12, is rotatably its lower end is formed Awith a worm 14, (see Fig. 2). A

shaft 15 is journaled transverselyvof the machine under the front end of the frame m, w

and fixed thereon is a worm gear 1G, adapted 'steering column 12. Spools 17, and l7-are fixed on opposite ends of the shaft 15, and steering chains 18 and 18 connected to the sides of the front frame a., are adapted to be wound in opposite directions on the spools 17 and 17 whenever the steering wheel is turned.

The general operationsof my machine is as follows: When the wheels are positively driven. Let us suppose that the operator wishes to turn to the right, having reference to Fig. 1. He will throw the lever bach, thereby exerting a pull on the cable, i and slaclrening the cable z'. The clutch 57 will thereupon be disengaged and the corresponding floating end d of the shaft ci, will he allowed to idle. The drive on the other wheel c will then turn the machine. shorter radius than can be accomplished by the manner above described, thev operator machine is ltraveling l in a straightlf; all

If it is desired to turn on a tinuous transmission of power from the m0-l tor o,- to thelfront section A, regardless of the movements of the. machine.' The universal joint which vconn'ects'the tractor sections A and B, willallow each section to readilyl adapt itself to the contour of the ground over which 'said traction engine. is running` at any time without producing torsional stresses in the frames or transmission shafts. This feature itself is one of the important parts of my invent-ion. When the machine, isto he driven backward, all of the rear wheels will idle, and the drive will be placed wholly on the front wheels. lVhenevervtlie.; traction engine isqto be used for road .\vorl the bolts l/`' are reinoved, and the projecting portions of the `rear section l, as

previously mentioned, may he readily disconnected from the body of the machine.

I claim:

l. In a self-prol'wllingr vehicle, a frame i consisting of.independent units for the front and rear wheels respectively, a joint con- 'necting such frame units, manualsteering mechanism for the front frame-unit,'power operated driving means connected to both the front and the rear wheels, and adapted also for driving the front wheels independently of each other, and means included in said connecting joint permitting the relative longitiuliiml movement of one frame-unit with .respect to the other, whereby the manual steering connections of the front wheel frame unit are relatively adplsted to permit the .action the power-driven steering means.

2. In a self-propelling vehicle, a frame consisting "of independent units for the front and rear wheels respcctively,'a joint connecting such frame-units, and a member -ineluded in said connections. relatively teleseopieal in one of said frame-units to permit the variationof the distancesaid frameunits are. spaced apart by said joint, manual steering mechanism for the front frameunit, and poweroperated drivixjng means `connected to both the front and the rear wheels` and adapted als o for driving the front u'heels indcpeiulently of each other.

MARCIILLUS J. WILLAMS.

Witnesses:

'M. C. Scinrrr'r, l). ll. limon. 

